Do I need to pay for an outside evaluation?

Question: Do I need to pay for an outside evaluation?

Answer:

No, you should not have to. But oftentimes parents do—or parents check with their insurance carrier and allow the insurance to cover an outside evaluation under a medical need or an educational need. However, if the school district has denied your request for an evaluation, an outside evaluation often helps your appeal. This can sometimes be paid for by the school district as part of something that's called an IEE which is an “independent educational evaluation”. That request is made by the parent at school district request when a parent disagrees with an evaluation that the school district has already performed.

So, the short answer is no, you shouldn't have to pay for an outside evaluation because there is actually a project called “Child Find” that puts the responsibility on the school district to evaluate and find children who have disabilities.

If you have questions about getting your child’s needs evaluated, please schedule a free intro call with Laurie McDevitt, Special Education Advocate & Consultant. Serving families in the Chicagoland area and throughout the country.